When fishermen sell fish to traders in Sam-son city, Vietnam, their prices are determined through a process of bargaining and haggling. Another critical aspect of the fish trade is" bot"in the process of making payments in Sam-son city. Following the procedures of bot, the fishermen do not receive a part of the price for which their fish is sold to the traders. People in Sam-son city claim that" bot is a behavior that fishermen must do socially."Bot is not intended to slash prices nor to bring the fishermen directly economic profits. Although fishermen do not have the profits, why must they practice bot? In this paper, I delineate the socio economic characteristics of bot, through the analysis of the rationale and the rules of bot in the process of economic exchange. Fishermen do not practice bot with all purchasers. They engage in bot only for the traders who buy and then go to the market to sell. Futhermore, fishermen engage in bot for the sake of the traders, to enable them to sell fish to customers smoothly and profitably. Bot is practiced only between fishermen and traders who have a particular social relationship, and bot has two functions. The first of which is to resolve conflicts that occur in the process of the economic exchange. The second function is to guarantee a stable passage of the value of the fish. The two functions are related to stability of the community. There is conflict surrounding prices as well as that between the persons who gains and the person who loses in the process of the economic exchange. The conflict affects daily life in the community. However, bot resolves the conflict and guarantees a stable economic life, and it contributes to stability of the community. |